Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

By: Thomas Andrew Dorsey

Precious Lord, take me hand, lead me on, help me stand; 

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Thru the storm, thru the night, lead me on to the light, 

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. 

When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near; 

When my life is almost gone, hear my cry, hear my call, hold my hand lest I fall;

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. 

Thomas Dorsey, who is known as the "Father of Gospel Music", was born in a small town in Georgia in 1899. When he was eleven, the Dorseys moved to Atlanta where Thomas was quickly enamored with the blues and began playing piano at a vaudeville theater. Later the family moved to Chicago where he attended classes at the College of Composition and Arranging. Soon he was on stage under the name "Georgia Tom," playing barrelhouse piano in one of Al Capone's Chicago speakeasies and leading jazz bands. 

Thomas was converted at the National Baptist Convention in Chicago in 1921, and began writing gospel songs and trying to get them published. It was discouraging at first. He later said, "I borrowed five dollars and sent out 500 copies of my song, 'If You See My Savior', to churches throughout the country...It was three years before I got a single order. I felt like going back to the blues." He didn't, though, and gradually his reputation grew and his work became known. 

In August, 1932, while leading music in St. Louis, he was handed a telegram bearing the words, "Your wife just died." He rushed to a phone to call home, but all he could hear over the line was "Nettie is dead! Nettie is dead!" A friend drove him through the night, and he arrived home to learn that his baby boy had also died. "I began to feel that God had done me an injustice," Thomas later said. "I didn't want to serve Him anymore or write any more gospel songs." But the next Saturday, while alone in a friend's music room, he had a "strange feeling" inside-a sudden calm and a quiet stillness. "As my fingers began to manipulate over the keys, words began to fall in place on the melody like drops of water falling from the crevice of the rock:

Precious Lord, take my hand

Lead me on, let me stand

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn..."
Taken from "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J. Morgan

 I hope you all enjoyed learning about this hymn. Here's a video of the song.

As you may remember, my last post was about coffee. So I decided to have a "surprise giveaway," and I entered everyone who left a comment on that post.

I've picked the winner, and am happy to announce that Mehrll from Sharing Simple Things is the winner!  Congratulations, Mehrll!!!! Please email me using the contact form on the right sidebar, or leave a comment with your email. (It won't be published.) 

I hope you all have a good and godly week. Remember to walk with the King and be a blessing. 
Sincerely yours and eternally His,
Ashley
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.